Piper City soybean plant fire under investigation

Authorities lifted a partial evacuation in the tiny village of Piper City on Thursday afternoon and classes are set to resume Friday at a nearby school district.Officials shut down a section of the Ford County community near the facility after spotting smoke coming from the roof of the building.

No one was injured.

Investigators say they believe a chemical - aluminum phosphide - may have reacted with water from a leaking roof.

Dennis Higgins is Ford County's Emergency Management Agency coordinator. He tells The (Champaign) News-Gazette that authorities were worried about poisonous fumes being released.

Piper City has about 830 residents and is about 45 miles north of Champaign.